The glycemic index is a powerful tool that can assist you in burning fat and building muscle. By carefully tracking and regulating your carbohydrate intake, you can ensure that you get the most energy out of the foods you consume, and minimize the chance that they will be stored as body fat. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
The Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a method of measuring the effect a dietary carbohydrate will have on your blood sugar level within two to three hours after eating. The glycemic index is a rating scale from 1 to 100, with the lower score being the better. There are four types of sugars that give foods the majority of their rating scores. Fructose, the sugar found primarily in fruit, has a score of 20. Lactose, or milk sugar, has a glycemic index of 45. Sucrose, or table sugar, has a glycemic index of 80 followed by dextrose, which is the sugar from starches, has a glycemic index of 100.
Timing of Carbohydrates
To ensure steady levels of blood sugar, which will give you energy throughout the day, the majority of your carbohydrates should come from low-glycemic foods, such as strawberries, blueberries, and other foods containing predominantly fructose. Higher glycemic index carbohydrates can be consumed, if they are consumed with protein and fat to delay the rate at which they are processed by your digestive system. However, if you eat too many carbohydrates and fat together, you run the risk of simply consuming too many calories. Just because you are maintaining steady blood sugar levels does not mean that you can eat as much as you want.
Exercise Demands
Your muscles require glycogen, or sugar, to perform their normal functions. While certain contractions can take place with very low glycogen levels, for optimal performance in the gym, you need at least some carbohydrates to maintain training volume and intensity. If you get at least 20 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates, you should be able to maintain moderate intensity exercise. If you are doing a higher volume program, you will need to adjust your carbohydrate consumption accordingly.
Post-Workout
Immediately after your workout is the ideal time to consume simple sugars. Your blood sugar is low, and your insulin level is high, which means your body is primed to process sugar and get it to your muscles to restore depleted glycogen levels. If possible, this is the ideal time to consume a quickly digested protein, such as whey, which will help repair the damage you did to your muscles and restore diminished amino acids, the building blocks of protein. A shake made of whey and dextrose post-workout can help you recover, as well as build muscle.
References
- PubMed: Inverse Association Between the Effect of Carbohydrates on Blood Glucose and Subsequent Short-Term Food Intake in Young Men
- PubMed: Structural basis for the slow digestion property of native cereal starches. 2006
- PubMed: Glycemic index and glycemic load: measurement issues and their effect on diet-disease relationships. 2007
- British Journal of Sports Medicine: Hyperinsulinaemia, Hyperaminoacidaemia and Post-Exercise Muscle Anabolism: The Search for the Optimal Recovery Drink
